Robert Kennedy, Jr. just showed how inhumane he really is | Opinion
Vaccines have been one of the greatest health benefits in human history. New mRNA vaccines technology that saved millions of lives from COVID has been a huge advance in vaccine development. It could potentially lead to many new and better vaccines.
The decision to withdraw $500 million from mRNA vaccine research and development by our vaccine-denying health secretary, Robert Kennedy, Jr, appointed by our medically ignorant president and approved by our sycophantic Senate, is insane.
Policy decisions made to be obstinate are one thing, but denying the world the benefits of lifesaving vaccines is inhumane. The medical community is almost unanimously opposed to this move, and Congress should reverse this absurd decision.
Joel Miller, Hickory
College rental
Winthrop University’s decision to lease the Sellers House to Congressman Ralph Norman — at $3,200 a month — raises a dilemma that transcends rent checks. Public universities are bastions of inquiry, not outposts of ideology. In an era when political affiliation feels like identity, neutrality isn’t optional — it’s sacred.
The concern here isn’t personal — it’s systemic. Should any elected official occupy campus grounds without clear guidelines for transparency, equal access and safeguarding tax-exempt status? Students and faculty expect academic environments that challenge ideas fairly, free from implied partisan endorsement.
When public trust falters, even a lease can signal an erosion of institutional principle. As protests outside the Sellers House grow louder, one message cuts through the noise: universities must not just avoid partisanship — they must visibly transcend it.
J R Snodgrass, Tega Cay
New tax
I believe that the push for the 1% sales tax increase right now is because it’s municipal election time when around 15% of the 806,000 voters in Mecklenburg County will turn out to vote. It’s the same tactic used when in 2023 the $2.5 billion school bonds were presented and less than 10% of the voters approved them.
Currently the transportation plan is incomplete, the authority is not set up, and there’s no checks and balances in place. Mecklenburg pays 78%, the state pays 0%, and the federal government may pay 22%. Vote no and once the plan is complete, try again next year in the higher turnout mid-term elections for better voter representation.
Jim Shuback, Charlotte
American way
After state Rep. Carla Cunningham said “All cultures are not equal,” in a speech about immigration, I’m reminded of the time I went to a naturalization ceremony for a Kurdish refugee who I had befriended. Her husband had been a translator for our troops in Iraq.
After immigrants from over 50 countries took the oath of allegiance and were sworn in as citizens, they watched a video in which President Trump said now that they were American citizens they would learn to do things the American way.
Following this video, a member of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services gave the new citizens a contrary instruction: Do not forget your own cultures and traditions, but instead share them with your co-workers and neighbors. That to me is the American way.
Amy Lefkof, Charlotte
EA?
Lately, it seems the Environmental Protection Agency has dropped the “Protection” part of its name. Rolling back rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions and keep our air and water clean isn’t just short-sighted, it’s like taking the batteries out of your smoke detector because you don’t like the beeping.
Climate change isn’t waiting quietly at the door — it’s already pounding with wildfires, floods and record heat. The EPA was created to protect our health and environment, not polluters’ bottom lines. Weakening its role is like firing the lifeguard just as the tide is coming in. Let’s keep the “Protection” in the EPA and take climate change seriously before it costs more.
Mark Taylor, Charlotte
Sea-to-Lake
After President Trump threatened bilingual education I assume he will lead the way by changing the name of his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, to its English translation, Sea-to-Lake.
Terry Keith, Charlotte